Experts warn New Zealand may face more deadly landslides as storms intensify

Experts have warned New Zealand could see an increase in deadly landslides as global warming triggers more intense and frequent storms, after two fatal landslides struck the North Island during a series of January tropical storms. New Zealand’s landscapes are scarred by landslides, which have caused more than 1,800 deaths since written records began—more than earthquakes and volcanoes combined.

The January storms brought torrential rain that caused two fatal slides: one crashed into a holiday park in Mount Maunganui, burying six people authorities say are unlikely to be alive, and an earlier slide tore through a house south of the city, killing two. Tauranga city council evacuated 150 people from 30 homes to assess a new slip it said posed a "risk to life." Experts point to geological and human factors that raise landslide risk.

New Zealand sits on a tectonic boundary and has a high-rainfall maritime climate; human actions such as deforestation and cutting into slopes have reshaped the landscape. Martin Brook, professor of applied geology at the University of Auckland, said "land use change has been so profound, that we just aren’t resilient," and called for using increased landslide-mapping data to inform planning.